


Coming Out

by mikkimouse



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, M/M, Trope Bingo Round 14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24780202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikkimouse/pseuds/mikkimouse
Summary: Kotetsu's decided it's time to call Kaede and tell her about him and Barnaby.
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 137
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fourteen





	Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was _not_ actually what I intended to write for the "Coming Out" prompt, but given that the original idea would've been Long and I was without a computer for a week, I realized I wasn't going to have time to bang out a long!fic before June 30 without _hugely_ stressing myself out. 
> 
> So I went with a much simpler idea, one I've referenced in a number of stories but haven't ever actually written: Kotetsu and Barnaby telling Kaede about their relationship. 
> 
> This fills the "Coming Out (Of The Closet)" square on my [Trope Bingo board](https://mad-madam-m.dreamwidth.org/17415.html) and with this fic, I've officially hit a blackout!
> 
> Can I hear a wahoo? XD

Barnaby sat on the couch and watched Kotetsu pace the living room. First he sat beside Barnaby, and then immediately stood up again and went to the entertainment center to rearrange his movies, and then picked up the magazines strewn on the coffee table and put them on the shelf. After that, he went back to the couch and sat again, only to hop immediately back to his feet and grab a drink from the kitchen. 

Barnaby set his laptop aside. "Kotetsu. You don't have to do it, you know." 

Kotetsu snapped his head around so fast he nearly dropped his beer on the floor. "Eh? Do what?" 

Barnaby nodded meaningfully at the phone on the coffee table, where Kotetsu had pulled it in order to make the call. "You don't have to tell Kaede right now if you're not ready." 

Kotetsu gripped the edge of the counter and stared down at his beer, an unusually serious expression on his face. "Yeah, I do. I—" He cut himself off with a sharp exhale and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I don't want to keep this from her. I _shouldn't_ keep this from her." 

It was something they'd discussed a few times now, since their relationship had progressed to a romantic one and had been continuing—well, hurtling, to be honest—down that road. They stayed overnight at each other's apartments more often than not, and their conversations had taken a turn from the immediate to the future: what it would look like to move in together, when to tell the other heroes, whether to take their relationship public. 

And the big one: when to tell Kaede.

Barnaby didn't mind keeping his private life private for once; given that so much of his personal life had literally been aired on television, he preferred keeping the nature of his and Kotetsu's relationship to himself. And if Kotetsu had his way, people still wouldn't know his real name. 

But Kotetsu had already made a pretty big mistake once with not telling Kaede about his real job. He was far from perfect, but one of the things Barnaby appreciated about him was that he tried really hard to learn from his mistakes. 

Barnaby gestured to the door. "Would it be easier if I left?" 

Kotetsu shook his head and came back to the couch, sitting in front of the phone once again. "No. Please. Just…stay there?" 

Barnaby reached over and squeezed his hand. "Of course." 

Kotetsu squeezed it back, his hand trembling a little, and picked up the phone. "She's probably going to want to say hi to you after I tell her. I don't know what's going to surprise her more: that I'm seeing someone, or that it's you." 

He said it with a smile on his face, but Barnaby knew him well enough at this point to tell that those were the reasons he was struggling to make the call. "You know, if you tell her you're dating me, she'll probably think you're cool again." 

Kotetsu laughed, and his shoulders dropped minutely. "She's twelve now. I don't know if she's ever going to think I'm cool again." 

Barnaby squeezed his hand again and let go so Kotetsu could call, and picked up his laptop so he could give Kotetsu the illusion of privacy. Even so, Barnaby knew damn well he wasn't going to be able to focus on anything on his computer. He was nervous, too. He loved Kotetsu's family and he didn't _think_ they'd react poorly to finding out about their relationship, but. Well. You never knew, did you? 

Kaede picked up after two rings. "Hello?" 

Kotetsu cleared his throat. "Hey, Kaede. How are you?" 

"I'm okay. What's up?" 

"Not much." Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, can you turn on your video? Daddy's got something he needs to talk to you about." 

"What?!" Kaede sounded suddenly distressed. "What's wrong? Are you sick?!" 

"What? No!" Kotetsu glanced at Barnaby, eyes wide in panic. "Nothing's wrong! I'm fine, I promise. I'm not sick. It's something else." 

"What is it?" Kaede asked suspiciously. 

"Well, uh, I—" 

"I'm not turning on video until you tell me what it is!" 

"I'm seeing someone," Kotetsu blurted out. 

There was a pause. "You're dating?"

"I. Uh. Yes?" Kotetsu said.

Barnaby facepalmed. They were off to a great start.

The screen over the phone flickered, and then Kaede sat back in view, eyes narrowed at Kotetsu. "You don't sound very sure about it. Are you dating or aren't you?" 

"I'm not dating in general." Kotetsu cleared his throat. "I'm seeing someone, specifically. And it's…uh." His eyes flicked to Barnaby again before he turned his attention back to Kaede. "It's getting serious. So I just…wanted to tell you." 

"Oh." Kaede sat there for a long moment. "Well, it's about time." 

Kotetsu sat up straighter, blinking in surprise. "What?" 

Kaede crossed her arms and gave him a very familiar longsuffering look. "Dad, come on. It's been almost ten years. You probably should've been dating before now." 

"Hey, there wasn't anybody I _wanted_ to date before now," Kotetsu groused, but he looked slightly less panicked than he had a few moments before. "And you know…I still miss your mom. It took a long time for me to be ready. And uh…" 

He reached across the couch without looking, and Barnaby grabbed his hand tightly, a silent _I'm right here_ like Kotetsu had done for him so many times before. 

Kotetsu's shoulders dropped a fraction, and he half-smiled. "It took a while for me to find someone who understood that."

Barnaby threaded their fingers together and returned the smile, although Kotetsu wasn't looking at him. 

Kaede nodded and wiped her eyes. "So who is it? Do I know them? How long has this been going on?" 

Kotetsu scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "Uh, a couple of months? And yeah…you know them. Know him."

Barnaby tensed at the deliberate choice of pronouns. 

Kaede's eyebrows shot up. " _Him?_ Wait, Dad, are you gay?!"

"No!" Kotetsu squeezed Barnaby's hand hard enough that Barnaby had to clench his jaw to keep from yelping. "It's…I'm bi. Bisexual. It means that—" 

"I know what it means!" Kaede cut in. "You're just now telling me?" 

"It wasn't important!" 

Kaede gaped at him. "How is it not important?!" 

Kotetsu was back to looking panicked. "It just wasn't! I wasn't seeing anybody before now, so it didn't matter." 

Barnaby covered his face with his free hand and resisted the urge to curse out loud. 

"Does Grandma know?" Kaede asked. 

Kotetsu looked like someone had just shoved him into the spotlight in nothing but his underwear. "Uh." 

"Dad!" Kaede sounded scandalized. "You haven't told Grandma?! Have you told Uncle Muramasa?"

"I wanted to tell you first!" Kotetsu dragged his hand through his hair. "And Muramasa knows. About me being bi. Not that I'm seeing anyone." 

Kaede sat back in her chair. "I need a minute." 

Kotetsu's face fell. "Oh. Uh, sure…" 

She waved her hands. "I'm not upset or anything! It's just a lot." 

Kotetsu tightened his grip on Barnaby's hand. "Do you want me to call you back later?" 

"No! No." Kaede shook her head. "It's okay. Just wait a little bit."

Kotetsu nodded. "All right." 

It was quiet for several minutes. Kaede's reaction sounded promising, but Barnaby would've been lying if he said he wasn't anxious. At the same time, it _was_ a lot to process at once. He could understand why she needed some time. 

Kotetsu was still clutching his hand hard enough that Barnaby idly wondered if he was going to lose feeling in his fingers. 

"Okay," Kaede finally said. "So you're in a relationship. With a guy. For a couple of months. And it's getting serious?" 

"Yeah," Kotetsu said. 

"Okay!" Kaede nodded once firmly. "And you're happy?" 

At that, Kotetsu smiled, the smile that always made Barnaby's heart flip, and he rubbed his thumb over Barnaby's hand. "Yeah. I'm happy."

"Then that's all that matters, right?" Kaede smiled, and it looked wobbly. "I just want you to be happy, Dad." 

Kotetsu wiped his eyes. "Thanks, Kaede." 

"So!" She clapped her hands. "Who is it? You said I know him? Who—" Her eyes went huge. "Wait, wait, wait. Dad, are you dating _Barnaby?_ "

Kotetsu jerked back, eyes wide. "How did you—" 

Kaede shrieked. "You _are?!_ "

Kotetsu tugged his hand, and Barnaby slid over so that he was in front of the phone camera as well. "Hello, Kaede." 

She clapped her hands over her mouth. " _What?!_ You two are dating?! Really?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised about it," Kotetsu muttered. 

Barnaby elbowed him. "Yes, we are," he said to Kaede.

"This is so cool!" She bounced in her seat. "Has it really only been for a couple of months?" 

"It has," Barnaby said. "At least, in a romantic sense." 

"How?" She looked between them. "I mean, how did it happen?" 

Kotetsu grinned. "Bunny, do you want to tell her?" 

Barnaby gave him a flat look. "It wasn't anything interesting. I just kissed him." 

"Bunny!" Kotetsu poked him. "You have to tell it better than _that_." 

Barnaby rolled his eyes. "I was tired of dropping hints the size of aircraft carriers and them sailing completely over his head, so I kissed him to make it clear I was interested. That was what finally worked." 

" _Dad!_ " Kaede gave him a reproving look. "How could you miss so many hints?" 

"I didn't know they were hints!" Kotetsu protested. "We already hung out all the time! I didn't know they were supposed to be dates."

"I asked you to go to the opera with me," Barnaby reminded him. "And dinner. And the orphanage. And—" 

"All right, all right, I missed a lot of hints," Kotetsu grumbled. "But I didn't think you _meant_ it that way." 

"Which is why I kissed you," Barnaby reminded him. "So you would get it through your thick head that I _did_." 

Kotetsu scowled, and Kaede looked like she was trying very, very hard not to laugh. "So it's only been a couple of months because Dad didn't realize you wanted to date him before that." 

"Exactly," Barnaby said. 

"Hey, I don't need _both_ of you ganging up on me," Kotetsu muttered. 

Barnaby kissed his cheek in apology. 

"So have you told anybody else?" Kaede asked. 

Kotetsu shook his head. "Fire Emblem and Rock Bison know, but they're the only other ones. We haven't told the others yet." 

Kaede frowned. "Why not?"

"Because it's private," Kotetsu said, with a glance at Barnaby. 

"We kept it quiet at first because we weren't sure if it would work out, but lately it's been because it's not anybody's business," Barnaby explained. "There's a lot we have to share in our work. We didn't want to share this."

Kaede nodded. "But you're sharing it with me." 

"Yeah, because we're getting serious. And I didn't want to keep it from you anymore," Kotetsu said. "And Bunny agreed with me." 

Kaede looked like she was fighting a smile. "But you need to tell Grandma and Uncle Muramasa!" 

"We will!" Kotetsu assured her. "We'll call after dinner to talk to them both." 

"And you should tell the other heroes! They're your friends, they'll want to know!" 

Barnaby smothered a laugh. He suspected the other heroes had guessed; he and Kotetsu had not made much of an effort to hide things around them, even if they hadn't said anything outright. "After we tell Anju and Muramasa, the others are next on the list. And then…" 

He trailed off and met Kotetsu's gaze. They hadn't _quite_ discussed how to handle coming out to the public yet, and if they were seriously discussing moving in together, that would be a conversation they'd need to have sooner rather than later. 

"And then we'll figure out the rest when we get there," Kotetsu finished for him. "The important thing is telling our family and friends first." 

"Good." Kaede smiled tremulously. "I'm glad you told me. And I'm glad you're happy." 

Kotetsu returned the smile. "Me, too." 

They said good-bye shortly after that, and Kotetsu collapsed against the couch the second they were off the call. 

Barnaby rubbed his arm. "Are you okay?" 

"Mm." Kotetsu swiped his hand over his face and slid over to lean against Barnaby. "Yeah." 

Barnaby pressed his face into Kotetsu's hair. "Just your mother and brother now." 

"Heh. They'll be easy." He twisted his wedding ring. "Kaede's the one I was worried about. But it went well." 

"It did," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu huffed a laugh. "Can't believe she guessed we were dating." 

Barnaby considered the way Rock Bison and Fire Emblem had reacted when they'd found out, which had been less along the lines of "surprise" and more along the lines of "it's about damn time." "I guess it's not that shocking if you know us." 

For his part, Barnaby had been dealing with his feelings for years, and trying to find a way to tell Kotetsu about them for months. Anyone who had paid a scrap of attention to them could probably tell that. And from what Kotetsu had told him over the past couple of months, his trajectory had been similar.

Kotetsu lifted Barnaby's hand and kissed the back of it. "I guess not." He sat back up and looked Barnaby in the eye. "Are you sure about this, Bunny?" 

Barnaby looked down at their hands, then back up to Kotetsu. "I've never been surer about anything in my life." 

That got Kotetsu to blush, and he glanced away and cleared his throat. "Heh. Good. Because there's no turning back now. It'll break Kaede's heart. You're stuck with me." 

As far as life sentences went, Barnaby could think of many worse and very few better. He pulled Kotetsu back over to him and relished in the way they fit together, unexpected but perfectly, just like in everything. "I think I can live with that."

**Author's Note:**

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